Ernie Isley: “It was the spring of ‘63 when I met him. At the time I was focused on baseball, not even thinking about being a musician. You see, Jimi came to live with my family when he became the guitar player for my older brothers’ group. He didn’t have a place to live, so we took him in. My brother Marvin and I were the biggest beneficiaries because we got to watch Jimi practicing – literally becoming the giant that he became to everyone else. But he was just Jimi to us.”

“Our mother would say, ‘Jimi, can you go to the store and get some milk, eggs and chicken?’ He’d graciously walk the few blocks to the store - late morning or early afternoon - and Marvin would always walk with him…to get Pez candy! Jimi would come back carrying the grocery bags, some chewing gum for himself, and bring my mother the change. She would always give him a lil’ something for running the errand. Then he’d pick up his guitar and start playing again…unplugged…in the living room, looking out the window, and mimicking the sounds of life as it went by…ambulance sirens and car horns…until dinnertime.”

“He was never trying to see how fast he could play. He was trying to put an apple in your mouth, roll you over a spit for five hours – turning up the heat ever so slowly - and slow cook your ass until you could feel what he was playing. That was the main thing about Jimi. He wanted you to feel him.”

“Playing Jimi’s music always takes me through the Twilight Zone," he muses, "back to being 11...when my mother and my big brother Kelly were still alive, my brother Marvin was not in a wheelchair, and Jimi was around. I’ll also be remembering Jimi’s father watching me speak about his son at the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony with tears in his eyes but a grin on his face. I was the only person there who ‘knew him when’ and he was loving hearing those truths. So it’s going to be very emotional for me up there. I’m very flattered that they asked me to be a part of this. I’m expecting to be illuminated and to learn something. And they should all be expecting me to bring the fire. Because as cool as Jimi was as a human being, when he got on a stage with anybody, he was a competitive cat. So just like Jimi, I intend to bring it!”